Business Editors
WEST CALDWELL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 18, 2000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Board of Directors Approves Buyback of Up To 500,000 Shares of
Common Stock
Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (NASDAQ: GMAI) announced today that the Company's Board of Directors has approved a plan whereby the Company may buy back up to 500,000 shares of its Common Stock.
The shares will be purchased on the open market from time-to-time, depending on market price or as the Company otherwise deems appropriate. The price GMAI will pay for the shares will not exceed the highest independent bid or independent sale price of the Company's stock on the Nasdaq National Market, whichever is higher. In general, on any given day GMAI will not repurchase more than 25% of the average daily trading volume of GMAI common stock for the four weeks preceding the week in which the purchase was made, excluding block trades.
Greg Manning, Chairman and CEO of Greg Manning Auctions, stated, "We are pleased with the Board's decision to authorize the Company's repurchase of its shares on the open market. A number of exciting developments have recently occurred for the Company, including the strategic agreement between our subsidiary GMAI-Asia.com and Sina.Com (NASDAQ: SINA), which broadens the reach of GMAI-Asia.com's iAtoZ.com website to Sina.com's 3.1 million registered users, and the strategic agreement between GMAI-Asia.com and the China Everbright Group Limited (SHEK: 256), which permitted us to implement our "clicks and mortar" strategy in China. In addition, on Monday, April 17, 2000, we announced the commencement of our joint marketing agreement with Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and the launch of the www.gregmanning.amazon.com pages on Amazon.com's auction and zShops sites. The GMAI pages on Amazon.com feature thousands of collectibles under the Greg Manning banner and we believe that the agreement will have a positive impact on the Company. Further, GMAI-Europe.com's website has launched and aggressive expansion in both Europe and Latin America is being planned in concert with Afinsa Bienes Tangibles S.A., of Madrid, Spain. In light of these developments, the Board and I believe that the Common Stock is an attractive investment, particularly in view of the current price and the Company's aggressive plans for growth."
The repurchase program supports the recent investments GMAI has received. During the last quarter, several hundred-thousand shares of the Company's Common Stock was purchased by The Tail Wind Fund Ltd. and its co-investors and by Eisenberg Partners, LLP in the high teens to low twenties. Additionally, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ NM: AMZN) made a $5 million investment in the Company. Since December 31, 1999, GMAI's net worth has increased from $17.9 million to $34.9 million, a 95% increase. GMAI has approximately 10 million shares of Common Stock outstanding.
About Greg Manning Auctions, Inc.
Greg Manning Auctions, Inc. (NASDAQ NM: GMAI) is a global eCommerce company and Internet merchant. The Company is leveraging on a worldwide basis its core competencies in superior customer service and auctions in the Internet marketplace, including business-to-consumer business-to-business, and consumer-to-consumer auctions. GMAI achieves competitive advantages through multiple eCommerce platforms operated on three continents (Asia, Europe and North America), proprietary technologies, and global product sourcing.
In Asia, the Company's affiliate GMAI-Asia.com, Inc. owns and operates what the Company believes to be China's leading eCommerce platform and cybermall. GMAI-Asia.com, Inc.'s website, www.iAtoZ.com, currently offers cybershoppers over 100,000 diverse offerings including automobiles, electronics, real estate and collectibles - everything from A to Z - provided by over 4,500 merchant partners including all of Beijing's major department stores. Pursuing a "clicks and mortar" strategy while the Internet infrastructure develops in China, GMAI-Asia.com is building over 650 Internet shopping and service centers through a joint venture with China Everbright Group (SEHK: 256). The centers, strategically located in heavily trafficked urban neighborhoods, include computer terminals available to the public for browsing the www.iAtoZ.com site and address the three major hurdles to eCommerce in China: access to the Internet, payment and delivery.
In Europe, the Company's affiliate GMAI-Europe.com, Inc. is headquartered in Madrid, Spain, and along with its joint venture partner, Afinsa Bienes Tangibles S.A., operates the just launched European auction portal www.gmai-europe.com.
In North America, GMAI stands as an industry leading Internet auction and collectibles company. GMAI was the first eCommerce auction company to offer simultaneous Internet and touch-tone telephone bidding, a technology that it developed internally and owns. GMAI's North American websites are www.gregmanning.com and www.teletrade.com and its recently launched sites www.gregmanning.amazon.com [Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ NM: AMZN) is a minority owner of GMAI] and www.gregmanningdirect.com. GMAI's North American offices are in West Caldwell, NJ (global headquarters), Santa Ana, CA, and Kingston, NY.
Statements in this press release that relate to future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Those factors include the parties' abilities to develop, implement, integrate, and launch the services and offerings described herein, and other factors discussed in the "forward-looking information" or "risk factors" sections included in the companies' prospectuses, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and annual reports on Form 10-K
This release and prior releases are available on the KCSA Public Relations Worldwide website at www.kcsa.com.
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